Ranchtv Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

09/30/2026

Knowing when to deworm starts with knowing what to look for 🐑

In this RanchTV Short, Dr. Jake Thorne demonstrates how to use FAMACHA scoring to check a sheep’s lower eyelid for signs of anemia associated with blood-feeding parasites, particularly barber pole worm.

You’ll learn how to:
✅ Evaluate eyelid color using FAMACHA scoring
✅ Identify sheep that may need treatment
✅ Make more targeted parasite-management decisions

Using tools like FAMACHA can help reduce unnecessary deworming and preserve dewormer effectiveness.

🎥 Watch the full-length RanchTV video: https://youtu.be/ejccwpw9lo8

09/24/2026

This short course, named in honor of ranching enthusiast David McKnight, is a critical educational initiative designed to help new and inexperienced landowners understand the fundamentals of natural resource management.

09/24/2026

Save the Dates:
Owning Your Piece of Texas – December 7
Ranchers Leasing Workshop – December 8
Both programs offer practical guidance for landowners and ranchers on managing property, leases, and operations. Learn more and register here: tx.ag/OYPT26RLW

09/23/2026

Notice swelling under your sheep’s jaw? It could be bottle jaw.

In this RanchTV Short, Dr. Jake Thorne explains how to recognize bottle jaw in sheep and why it can be an important sign of an internal parasite problem.

Bottle jaw is swelling that develops beneath the lower jaw and can be associated with heavy parasite burdens, particularly blood-feeding parasites such as barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortus).

Recognizing this sign can help you identify sheep that need further evaluation and may require treatment. Targeted parasite control can help protect flock health while reducing unnecessary deworming and slowing the development of dewormer resistance.

🎥 Watch the full-length RanchTV video: https://youtu.be/ejccwpw9lo8

09/17/2026

New to ranching? The David McKnight '73 Ranch Management University short course covers everything from soil health to aquaculture, with access to outstanding specialists who provide science-based information to Texans.

Click the link to learn more and register today: tx.ag/RMUniversity

Texas A&M University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences | Texas A&M Animal Science | Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics | Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management | Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute | USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

09/16/2026

The first few days of a foal’s life are an important time to introduce calm, safe handling.

In this RanchTV Short, learn basic techniques for approaching, handling and checking a newborn foal while keeping both the foal and mare as relaxed as possible.

You’ll learn how to:
✅ Minimize stress during handling
✅ Keep the mare and foal calm

Early, low-stress handling can help build trust and make future training and veterinary care easier.

🎥 Watch the full-length RanchTV video: https://youtu.be/jVNNr_RHPck

09/09/2026

Learn an Essential Cattle-Handling Knot in Under a Minute!

Knowing how to tie a quick-release slip knot is an essential skill when working with cattle. In this RanchTV Short, learn how to tie a slip knot specifically for safely securing cattle to a panel or other appropriate tie point.

A properly tied slip knot keeps the animal secure while allowing the knot to be released quickly when needed, making it a useful skill in the show barn and around the ranch.

🎥 Watch the full-length RanchTV video: https://youtu.be/8-dCgMxDAlg

09/07/2026

Ranchers, join us for the Ranchers Leasing Workshop on December 8th in Bryan, TX. This hands-on program will provide practical tools and insights to help you manage leases and protect your ranch operations. Register here: tx.ag/OYPT26RLW

09/07/2026

She was the first woman ever named to the livestock judging team at Oklahoma A&M, and that turned out to be the smallest of the firsts she collected.

Minnie Lou Ottinger was born in Hinton, Oklahoma, in 1931, and she was among the first women to earn an animal husbandry degree from Oklahoma A&M, the school we know now as Oklahoma State. Judging cattle was what she was best at, and it stayed that way her whole life. In 1955, the year she married Bill Bradley, the two of them bought a 3,300 acre ranch near Childress with twenty cows on it. That was the entire beginning of Bradley 3 Ranch.

It grew to about 11,000 acres out in the eastern Texas Panhandle, running somewhere around four hundred head of Angus bred cattle, and she became its principal operator. She built her reputation on Angus breeding and on crossing Angus with Hereford, and she taught agriculture classes at TCU besides. The American Angus Association elected her its president, the first woman to lead it.

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame inducted her in 2006. In 2014 her portrait was unveiled in the Saddle and Sirloin Club gallery in Louisville, the oldest portrait gallery in American agriculture. She died in 2025 at ninety three, and her daughter, Mary Lou Bradley-Henderson, carries the ranch on.

09/07/2026